Creamy Cucumber Dill Pasta Salad

HAPPY MONDAY!

I'm super excited to announce that because I'm at the beach and have already walked on the beach and done yoga on the beach with Jay and my mom this morning.

That does not a bad morning make.

Anyway.

It's also 4th of July week!

That means that you'll be doing something super duper fun on Wednesday, right?

I will be. I'm going to bossily suggest that you make this deliciously creamy salad sometime this week.  It goes beautifully with your favorite cookout items, and it's a fan favorite at many a barbecue.  Trust me!

Here's what you need:

• 1/4 onion
• 1 cup Italian dressing
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried dill or 1 bunch fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cucumber (American, English, whatevs)
• 1 large or 2 small stalks celery
• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs short pasta

Easy peasy stuff.  You'll love this.

In make-ahead news, you can chop the veggies and make the dressing a few days in advance, and then cook the pasta and mix it with the dressing on the day you'd like to serve it.  I don't like putting the dressing on this particular salad in advance because it gets a bit....hard?  Tight?  I don't know.   It's just better to mix this 30 minutes or so before you're ready to serve it.

In any event.

First, finely dice the cucumber and celery.

For the salad dressing, finely mince the onion.

If you're using fresh dill, mince that up too - this is a great time of year to use fresh herbs!

Then mix the onion, veggies, Italian dressing, mayo, sour cream, dill, and vinegar in a large bowl.  Taste it, and add some salt and pepper if you'd like! The dill flavor will intensify as the dressing sits, so don't worry if you can't taste it right away.

Easy, huh?

Now, when you're ready to serve, bring some water to a boil and cook the pasta with lots of salt according to the package directions.  Drain the pasta, and rinse it with warm water - this will get some of the starch off to prevent the pasta from sticking together, but it'll keep the pasta warm.

Add the pasta to the dressing, stir it all around, and THERE YOU GO.  So yummy, so delicious, and so easy!

This really is great guys, and easy as pie for a quick cookout side.  Customize the dressing to your liking - fresh lemon juice is great with the dill if you're into that kind of thing.

What's your favorite BBQ side dish?